South Korean AD carry Chae "Piglet" Gwang-jin has joined Clutch Gaming to compete on its academy roster for the 2018 season, league sources told ESPN.
Piglet will play alongside top laner Maxime "Maxtrobo" Delangis-Gallichand, jungler Galen "Moon" Holgate, mid laner Josh "Sun" Cook and support Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme, sources said. Clutch announced Moon and Sun as the first two players of their Academy team on Monday. The Clutch Gaming Academy roster came together after the Houston Rockets-owned League of Legends team completed its starting roster in late November.
Piglet will join the Clutch organization after his former team, Team Liquid, did not renew his contract. He competed with Team Liquid for all three years of his time in North America, after moving to the United States following his departure from SK Telecom T1 in 2014. Liquid decided to move on after the opportunity to obtain Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng -- one of the best AD carries in North America -- became available during the 2017-18 offseason.
The North American Academy League is set for its inaugural season to begin on Jan. 19. All North American League Championship Series teams will host a second team in the Academy League, which is meant to present the opportunity to develop young talent that could eventually compete on the higher-level LCS teams.
Clutch Gaming obtained its spot in the League Championship Series, and as a result, the Academy League, after Riot Games accepted it as a long-term franchise partner. Its parent company, the Rockets, are among three NBA franchises to participate in the league, alongside the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, who also started new esports brands in November.